Scout releases its class of 2017 Scout 300

Feb. 6 -- The class of 2016 is in the books and Scout delves deeply into the 2017 class with the release of the Scout 300...

Scout released its five-star prospects in the class of 2017 on Thursday, and now the Scout 300 is out.

There are 46 receivers, 31 offensive tackles, 25 quarterbacks and 25 athletes. Also, 46 of the Scout 300 come from Florida, and 46 comes from Texas. Georgia has 31 and California has 29. There is also a member outside of the United States in linebacker Juliano Falaniko, the No. 132 prospect. He hails from Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Here is the regional breakdown:

East

National Recruiting Analyst Brian Dohn says: "The East is home to a few big-time running backs, with three of them -- Philadelphia St. Joseph Prep's D'Andre Swift, Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha's Anthony McFarland and Virginia Beach (Va.) Ocean Lakes' Khalan Laborn -- in the top eight players from the East.

"There are already four players committed, led by Wexford (Pa.) North Allegheny offensive lineman Josh Lugg, who is committed to Notre Dame. Also, Homestead (Pa.) Steel City defensive back Paris Ford is committed to Pittsburgh, Stephens (Va.) Sherando outside linebacker Dylan Rivers is committed to Penn State and Hightstown (N.J.) Peddie offensive tackle Noah DeHond is a Clemson pledge.

"There are also a pair of new four-star prospects from the East in the Scout 300. Fredericksburg (Md.) Riverbend defensive end TyJuan Garbutt and West Sayville (N.Y.) Sayville quarterback Jack Coan are now four-star players."

Southeast

National Recruiting Analyst Chad Simmons says: "It is another cycle, and again, Florida and Georgia lead the way with prospects out of the South in the Scout 300. The state that may surprise some this year is Alabama. The talent base there grew substantially over the last few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. A year away from signing day 2017, Alabama has 17 prospects in the Scout 300, and it could grow. The South is again, very strong, and balanced with linemen and skill guys in 2017.

The strongest position this cycle looks to be wide receiver, and the leader is five-star Trevon Grimes of powerhouse Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas. It is the year of big receivers, too. Grimes is pushing 6-foot-4, and out of the 16 other four stars, 12 are at least 6-1.

Quarterback is another position well represented. Jake Bentley of Opelika (Ala.) is the top signal caller in the South, but there are some talented gunslingers right behind him. Alabama commit Jake Fromm of Warner Robins, Ga., and Davis Mills of Norcross, Ga, Greater Atlanta Christian joining Bentley as the top signal callers in the region. There is a good blend of pocket passers and dual-threat quarterbacks as well. Former Auburn commit Lowell Narcisse of Saint James, La., is the No. 1 dual-threat and Miami commit N'Kosi Perry is No. 1.

National Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu says: "There were not a ton of changes in the Scout 300 yet in the Midwest, but one of the players who moved up was Jedrick Wills. During his sophomore year, he was a mauler and we loved his size and strength, and as a junior, we felt he showed a lot of improvement. He was quicker and his defensive film was impressive as well. It is easy to see why there is a line of big-time programs coming after him."

Midlands

National Recruiting Analyst Greg Powers says: The Midlands is once again loaded with talent and boasts more than 50 players in the Scout Top 300. After what could be considered a bit of a down cycle in 2016, the quarterback position is stacked in 2017. Six quarterbacks are on the list, doubling the amount from 2016.

Leading the quarterback position is TCU commit Shawn Robinson, a 6-2, 205-pound dual-threat who will fit in perfectly with what the Horned Frogs want to do. Making a huge leap in the rankings is Texas commit Sam Ehlinger, a 6-0, 200-pounder from Austin (Texas) Westlake. Ehlinger led his team to a state title appearance and was named the Midlands Offensive Player of the Year, which is a huge honor for the junior.

Checking in as the No. 29 prospect is Texas Tech commit Jack Anderson, a 6-4 1/2, 285-pounder from Frisco (Texas) High. He is the highest rated center prospect in the history of Scout from the Midlands region.

The talent is deep at the wide receiver spot. Fourteen wide receivers from the region are rated in the Scout 300.

West

National Recruiting Analyst Brandon Huffman says: "It has been a couple of years since the West was as stocked on the offensive line as it is in 2017. In fact, you’d have to go back to the 2012 class to have a top-end crop like this year. Three of the top seven players in the region are offensive linemen, including two of the top tackles nationally in Graham (Wash.) Kapowsin five-star Foster Sarell and Phoenix (Ariz.) North Canyon five-star Austin Jackson.

"Add in Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco offensive guard Wyatt Davis, the No. 1 guard nationally, and that’s three of the top 13 players in the country from the West all in the trenches.

"The running back group will be much improved in the West, too. Maybe not as good as the 2014 class, but its top two are as good as that group, with the nation’s No. 1 prospect, Najee Harris from Antioch (Calif.), an Alabama pledge, and Fontana (Calif.) Summit back Stephen Carr, a soft commit to USC, leading that group."The defensive tackle group out is on track to be the best and deepest pool the region has seen in years.

"Led by the big four of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman’s Haskell Garrett, Martin Andrus from Los Angeles, Calif., Greg Rogers of Las Vegas (Nev.) Arbor View and Salt Lake City (Utah) Bingham’s Jay Tufele , they are joined by a newcomer in the Scout 300. Marlon Tuipulotufrom Independence (Ore.) Central is one of the Northwest’s top prospects, and will be a national prospect at the tackle position.

"The quarterback class is better across the board, too, with Calabasas (Calif.) four-star Tristan Gebbia, La Jolla (Ariz.) Country Day's Braxton Burmeister, an Arizona commit, and Wilsonville (Ore.) four-star Connor Neville, joining a quartet of quarterbacks from the West in the Scout 100."